The Wreck
by iwannagibbs
Summary: Gibbs has a car wreck. Angsty. No fluff or miracle ending this time.


Disclaimers: Only Donna and Frank are mine. The other belong to you know who.

**The Wreck**

Donna and Frank Michaels were on their way home from their daughter's house late Sunday night. They had decided to take the back roads home so they would miss the end of the weekend traffic that plagued the highways this time of year. The Michaels live in a small town in Pennsylvania and were about 20 miles from home when they saw the car wreck. Frank had just commented to his wife that the fog was getting worse and he was glad they were almost home when they came around a curve in the road just in time to see a car coming straight at them on the wrong side of the road. Frank swerved; barely missing the idiot in the sports car only to come face to face with the dark sedan the sports car had been passing; illegally of course. Mr. Michaels is in his late 60's and his reflexes aren't what they used to be so he was just a bit slow to make the second swerve back into his own lane. Luckily for him and his wife the man in the dark sedan had excellent reflexes and he swerved to successfully avoid them. Unfortunately, he swerved to the outside; correctly guessing the oncoming vehicle would try to go back into the correct lane. That assumption was not only correct but also problematic as it caused the sedan to go off the road, down a steep embankment and come to a violent stop against a centuries old maple tree.

Frank and Donna Michaels sat stunned for only moments before he stopped the car and turned on the emergency flashers. They got out and made their way down to the crashed vehicle that only seconds before had been about to crash head on into their own car. Using the powerful flashlight he kept in the car, Frank followed the trail the car had made and found the driver was trapped by force of the crash.

"He's barely conscious. We need to go for help." Frank tried to keep his wife from seeing the man who was covered in blood and lying halfway out of the driver's side door.

"We can't leave him here alone. We need to get him back inside the car. I'll stay with him and you go get the state police. Let's get the blankets out of the car." Donna Michaels was a nurse for over 30 years before she retired last year and her husband knew better than to question her in a situation like this. Frank knew she wouldn't leave the man so together they got him onto the back seat then Frank went to get the blankets they had in their trunk along with some bottles of water and another flashlight.

While her husband was getting the things from their car, Donna managed to wriggle into the backseat of the sedan and begin a rudimentary assessment of the driver. He was alive but as her husband had noted he was just barely conscious and had not spoken as yet. Frank arrived with the supplies and Donna urged him to go quickly for help. He knew she would be okay; Donna was very resourceful and very determined so it wouldn't have mattered if he had tried to get her to let him stay while she drove for help. She would undoubtedly point out that he was a builder, not a medical professional meaning she was more use to the man in the car than he would be.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," he told her as he hurried back up the hill to his car.

Donna covered the man with one of the blankets she had then wet an old towel Frank had brought and gently wiped off the man's face. That roused him; he groaned in pain and then managed to turn his head to see who was helping him. Donna found herself looking into the bluest eyes she'd ever seen.

"What happened?" His voice was barely a whisper, compromised by pain and confusion.

"You were in a car accident. You swerved to miss my husband and me after we had to swerve into your lane to miss another car. You ran off the road. Can you tell me where you hurt?"

"Not sure." The man reached a hand up to his face and then moaned when he tried to move.

"Don't try to move too much. My husband has gone for help. The nearest town is about 20 miles away so it may take a little while for him to get back with emergency personnel. My name is Donna."

"Gibbs, Jethro Gibbs. Why are you here?"

"I'm a nurse. I couldn't go off and leave you here alone. Especially since this is partly our fault."

Gibbs tried to take stock of his injuries; his leg hurt like hell and he figured it was broken but more importantly his chest and abdomen were on fire. It was all he could do to take a good breath. This was bad he told himself and suddenly he was glad Donna, whoever she was, hadn't left him alone.

Donna noticed Gibbs' breathing was labored and shallow and she imagined he had some internal injuries from the impact. He had obviously been thrown around quite a bit as the car careened now the embankment. She had seen plenty of car crash victims during her nursing career so she knew the built in safety features of the modern car were helpful but not failsafe when it came to violent collisions. The collision of this feeble car into the trunk of the very substantial maple tree had most certainly been violent.

After she managed to get Jethro a bit more comfortable Donna shone the flashlight on his legs. There was no blood but Donna was sure his right leg was broken. Skhining the light on him she gingerly examined the rest of her 'patient' and found him outwardly in pretty good shape. It was internally that she feared her Mr. Gibbs was hiding his injuries.

When he coughed and she wiped blood from his mouth she knew her fears were correct.

"Do you have pain anywhere, Jethro?"

"My right leg and my chest. Having trouble breathing. How long do you think you husband will be?"

"Maybe an hour. I hope less. I'm going to put this other blanket around your legs okay?"

"Thanks," Gibbs mumbled as he felt himself falling asleep.

"No, Jethro I need you to stay awake. You probably have a concussion you know so you can't go to sleep on me. Tell me, what do you do for a living Jethro?"

Gibbs forced his eyes open and took as deep a breath as he could manage. He tried to focus on staying awake but something didn't feel right to him. He felt very calm and not at all fearful or agitated to get out of the car. The woman next to him was talking to him and fussing over him but he didn't mind for some reason. Normally he hated it when anyone tried to help him but this time it felt different for some reason.

"I'm a federal agent. I work for NCIS, Naval Criminal Investigative Service. I was on my way home from my father's house tonight."

"My husband and I were on our way home from our daughter's home. Where does you father live?" Donna knew she had to strike a balance between keeping Jethro awake and not forcing him to do too much. Right now he seemed able to talk so she decided on focusing on keeping him awake.

"He lived in Stillwater. He died last month and I was there taking care of the last of the legal stuff that comes with dying."

Gibbs' eyes closed again and he shivered. "Cold." He said through gritted teeth. He shifted a little towards Donna and she tucked the blanket closer around his shoulders and then found his jacket in the floor and laid that on top of the blanket.

"Thanks." He didn't open his eyes but his hand came out from under the blanket searching for Donna's. She took his hand and held it with both of hers. Jethro felt himself drifting, floating between wakefulness and sleep. He wanted very much to go to sleep. He knew somehow that he wasn't going to get out of this car alive and he was okay with that. So many people he loved were gone and now with his father dead Jethro felt more alone than he had in a long time. He and his father had become so close in the past several years that Jack's passing had taken a heavy toll on Jethro. He felt so tired and the pain was beginning to get worse; he just wanted to sleep.

"Jethro, wake up. Come on, I need you to talk to me." Donna gently touched his face and squeezed his hand in an effort to get him to listen to her.

Gibbs pulled himself back from the edge of sleep. He hated to leave this nice woman alone here in the cold and the dark but he feared that was what has going to happen if her husband didn't get back with some help really soon. He had been shot and blown up enough times to know his luck was bound to run out eventually. The only regret he was feeling was leaving his team behind. Especially Abby. She was his favorite; everyone knew it and he hated the thought of her sad and alone. Well, she isn't really alone he thought. She has a new boyfriend who seems to be The One. Tony would be fine too; he's ready for his own team and he'll get along okay. McGee had another book about to be published so he was going to be okay as well. Ziva. He worried about Ziva but hopefully, Vance would continue to protect her from her father. Tony would be there too and eventually those two would figure out they were meant to be together. That left only Ducky. His oldest and most trusted friend, Ducky had buried his mother last year and now Jordan was living with him. They seemed very happy together. Jethro envied Ducky that happiness; that love he had finally found.

"Jethro, can you hear me?"

"Yes. I'm sorry you have to be here like this. Did you say you're a nurse?"

"Yes, for over 30 years. I retired last year."

"Then you know I'm in trouble here right?" Jethro looked her straight in the eyes as he asked that question knowing she might try to lie to him. He trusted he would be able to discern if she did.

Donna looked at Jethro. He was daring her with his gaze to lie to him. She had long ago made it a policy never to lie to a patient; she found it cruel and usually not helpful at all. Consequently she had no trouble answering Jethro honestly.

"Yes, you are in trouble. Aside from a broken leg and a concussion your real problem is internal injuries. I imagine you are losing a lot of blood internally. Your breathing is compromised probably by a punctured lung as the result of rib fractures. My husband needs to hurry. I'm sorry Jethro, but I can't lie to you. I hope you understand."

"I do. Thank you for being honest. I can feel it anyway. I've had some close calls in my life so I have an idea what's happening. Don't worry, it's alright. Could you do me a favor……afterward?"

"Of course. What is it?"

Jethro coughed again and when he slumped back against the car seat his mouth was bloody and his breathing more labored than just minutes before. Donna wiped his mouth and tried to comfort him as best she could.

"You'll find all my information in my wallet. Please tell my team that it was quick. Tell them I didn't suffer; that I was okay with what's happening. Talk to my friend Ducky; Dr. Donald Mallard, and make sure he knows. Tell them I'm proud of all of them." Jethro was exhausted and leaned closer to Donna seeking her warmth and her comfort.

"I'll do that Jethro. But maybe I won't have to; maybe you will tell them yourself."

Gibbs managed a feeble smile and said, "Yeah, maybe." He looked at her and they both understood she would be delivering the messages.

"Need to sleep. Really getting cold now." Jethro tried to move around but couldn't get comfortable because the pain was now constant and pretty much everywhere.

Donna had been reluctant to move him much but now decided it wouldn't do any harm so she helped him lay down with his head in her lap. She gently stoked his hair with one hand and Jethro gripped her other hand tightly. His breathing was shallow and labored and he was shivering more all the time.

Jethro opened his eyes and looked up at her. "Better. Thank you for staying with me."

"You're welcome. Jethro, do you have someone waiting for you? Someone besides your father?"

The question caught him a little off guard; he hadn't thought about it that way but yes, he did have someone waiting. Several someones in fact. There were lots of fellow Marines who didn't come home from one mission or another. Kate. Jenny. And of course the two people who made this all okay were Shannon and Kelly. His first love and only his only child, they were finally going to be together again. How many times had he thought about ending his life so he could be with them? He always stopped himself for fear that if he killed himself he would be punished with never seeing them again. Now he was going to be with them; he could feel it. This time there would be no coming back, no miracle save from drowning, no last minute surgery or return from a coma. He was going to see his girls again.

His voice was laced with pain and the struggle to breathe now but he smiled at her when he said, "Yes, my first wife and my daughter. They are waiting for me. That's why it's okay for me to go. We have been apart a long time and I'm ready to see them again."

"What are their names?"

"Shannon and Kelly."

Donna felt Jethro struggle to take a breath and then another one. His grip on her hand loosened and his head was heavy on her lap. She felt for his pulse but she knew he was gone. Gone to his wife and daughter.


End file.
